I Miss You
by EchidnaPower
Summary: Misty misses Ash terribly, and it's affecting her emotionally as she's more irritable than usual, if that was even possible. But Daisy has a plan to get Ash to come and see Misty again. Will her plan have the desired effect? Or will it cause something she never could've seen coming?
1. Misty's Makeover

**Turning this oneshot trilogy into a standalone title. I gotta say, Simply-Nicole of deviantART is an**_**awesome**_**artist. Her drawings inspired me to write this first part of a three part mini-series. So after this, stay tuned!****  
**_

"In other news, Ash Ketchum, an aspiring young trainer who's made his way through several regions, and has placed in the top ten in several different leagues, including actually _winning_ in the Orange Islands, is now on a very good start in his Unova journey, having already earned two badges, there's no telling how far this young man might go." The news report concluded and the television began showing commercials for insurance companies, which prompted the girl watching to shut off the television.

She got up off her chair and walked into her room, and she jumped onto her bed and laid flat on her back, staring at the ceiling for a moment before turning towards a picture on her nightstand. She sat back up and picked up the picture, staring at it longingly, "Ash…" It was a picture of her, and her friends Ash and Brock, back when they were travelling in Kanto…seeing the old picture made her heart ache for past times, how she would enjoy the constant excitement, the adventure, and most of all…her old friends.

"Misty!" Misty was snapped out of her daydream by the shrill voice of her oldest sister Daisy, who had just found her in her room, "Like, there's a challenger down there waiting for you." Daisy then noticed Misty's melancholy attitude, "Like, you ok baby sis?"

"I'm not a baby!" Misty glared at Daisy, but her expression soon changed when she saw Daisy's shocked and hurt face, "Sigh, sorry Daisy…I'm…I'm – I'm not all there right now, I'll go take care of the challenger." Misty walked past her sister and closed the door behind her, leaving Daisy alone in Misty's room.

"It's ok." Daisy looked around the room and spotted a picture that had been knocked down, and she stood it back up, "Ohh, so like, _that's _what's got Misty all riled up." Daisy scratched her chin and smiled as an idea came to her, "Oooh…Misty, you're like, _so _gonna owe me for this." Daisy giggled and hurried out of the room, as she set her plan in motion.

"Alright Gyarados, let's _end_ this! Unleash your 'Flamethrower'!" Under Misty's command, Gyarados spewed flames from its gargantuan maw and knocked out the challenger's Shiftry, ending the match in Misty's favor. "Good job Gyarados, now take a break, we might have another battle later on." Misty returned Gyarados to its Pokéball just as her challenger walked up to her after returning his Shiftry. "Not bad, although I _would_ suggest finding an electric-type to try and counter my Gyarados."

"Yeah, guess I should've thought of that…" the man chuckled, "I must say, I'm _amazed_ by how much you've grown as a Gym Leader over these past few years."

"You've been watching me?" Misty asked curiously.

"No, not really." the man replied, "I've lived in Cerulean City for quite a while, and I've _always _thought about going on my own journey and taking on all of what Kanto has to offer…but I love my family, my friends, and I never wanted to leave them."

"So what made you change your mind?" Misty asked.

"I'm not so sure I _have _yet…I came to _your _gym _first _because it's the closest one…but I _have _decided that _you're _my inspiration." The man said.

That comment caught Misty off-guard. "I'm…I'm sorry?"

"Your sisters have been celebrities here in Cerulean and all throughout Kanto, I've seen their events, and I've seen _you, _ever since you were a little girl. You're different than your sisters, you enjoy battling, you love Pokémon, and when you went on your two year journey with Ash Ketchum, you must've seen and learned _so much!_" The man said, "I want to travel, I want to experience what _you _experienced during that time you were travelling." The man sighed just thinking about it, "I'll be back for a rematch someday soon, in the meantime, don't lose your passion." The man held out his hand for Misty to shake it, and the red-headed Gym Leader smiled and accepted the gesture.

As the man walked out, Misty called out, "Hey! Try the Viridian Forest! There might be some wild Pikachu for you to find!"

"Thanks! I'll check it out!" the man ran out of the gym and closed the doors behind him.

"Well…that was like, a touching little speech." A voice said with some amusement.

Misty turned around and saw Daisy leaning against a pole with a smile plastered on her face, "You were listening in?" Misty growled.

"Like, chill out." Daisy walked over to her youngest sister and grinned down at her, "I think it's like, _great_ that you're inspiring people. _Seriously."_

"Hmm…ok…" Misty walked past Daisy to go do something else.

"Although…I think it's like, a little _late _as far as the passion goes." Daisy said.

Misty stopped and turned around to face Daisy, "What's _that _supposed to mean?"

"I mean your passion is _already _gone." Daisy handed Misty the picture that was sitting on her nightstand, and watched Misty's expression turn soft, "Your passion is travelling in Unova right now…isn't he?"

Misty shook her head and glared at her sister, "What makes you think _Ash _is my passion or whatever?"

"Misty, like, please don't get like that, I'm like, not trying to be snide or anything." Daisy sighed as she tried to convince her sister, "You and I _both _know you like him, and there's absolutely _nothing _wrong with that! Why can't you just be _honest _about it?"

Misty was about to offer a rebuttal, but then she just slumped her shoulders and sighed in defeat, "Ok, _fine, _I like him, what's it to _you?"_

"I just wanna help baby sis, that's _all."_ Daisy stressed.

Misty sighed and turned her back to Daisy, her head bowed in sadness, "How? How could _you _help?"

Daisy walked up to Misty and placed her hands on her younger sister's shoulders, turning her around so she could look her in the eyes, "I think it's time you communicated with him."

"What, you mean call him? I can't. He's always somewhere else every day." Misty replied.

"No, don't _call _him…" Daisy pulled out a small card and handed it to the redhead, "_Write _him."

Misty raised an eyebrow at her sister, "Why _write _him?"

"Because…" Daisy then began to grin a little, "A letter is a lot more special than just calling someone; it has a certain…emotional satisfaction for _both _parties."

"Oh please." Misty rolled her eyes in annoyance.

"No I mean it! Trust me, Ash will appreciate it a _lot _more if you write him…and besides…" Daisy couldn't help but giggle, much to Misty's chagrin, "It'll make him miss you even _more_."

Misty sneered and turned her face away from Daisy, "He doesn't miss _me."_she spat, "If he _did_, he would've at least _tried _to call me every once in a while, or at least _visit _before running off to Unova and starting a whole new league."

_"Trust _me Misty, he _does _miss you, whether he's able to express it or not, he _does_ miss you, and a letter would be _just _the thing to remind him that you're still here, cheering him on." Daisy turned Misty's face back to hers, "Trust your big sister on this one, when have I _ever _been wrong when it comes to _these _kinds of things?"

Misty tried desperately to think of an instant when Daisy was wrong about boys…but she had to admit…when it came to matters of the heart…Daisy was almost _always _right. "Fine, you win. I'll write him a letter." Misty turned on her heels and walked back to her room, somewhat bitter over the fact that Daisy had defeated her in a battle of wits.

Once Misty was out of sight, Daisy grinned and hurried over to the videophone, "Perfect! Now just one more thing to make the plan complete!"

Back upstairs, Misty was sitting at her desk with the piece of paper in front of her, and a pencil that she happened to be chewing on as she thought about what she was going to write, "I dunno _what's _gotten into Daisy, making me write this dumb letter as if it'll make _any _difference whatsoever…Ash is just too dense to realize feelings beyond friendship." Misty looked back at the paper again, and eventually just slid it off the table and watched it hover down to the floor and gently land, "What am I _supposed _to write to him? 'Dear Ash, why the heck haven't you _visited _or _called _or _SOMETHING _in like a _year and a half?! _Am I so unimportant to you that you can't make any time for me?!' Yeah, that's _perfect!"_ Misty pushed herself away from the desk and rolled across the floor on her chair, and just sighed in sadness, hiding her face in her palms, "Why Ash? Why do you make things so difficult?"

"That's just Ash." a voice said from behind her door.

Misty jerked her head up and looked at the door, "That's not Daisy." she said to herself. The door opened slightly, and her baby Azurill came bouncing in, and hopped into her lap and smiled at her, "Azurill, who's out there?"

"You don't recognize me?" the door opened, and revealed Tracey and his Marill, who happened to be the _actual _mother of Misty's Azurill, "I'm hurt Misty. I thought we were really good friends!"

Misty smiled and got up off her chair to hug her friend, "How are you Tracey?"

"Doing pretty good, hard work at Prof. Oak's lab, juggling that with sketching and of course my _interesting_ relationship with your sister." Tracey laughed.

"And what is _interesting _supposed to mean?" Daisy raised an eyebrow and tapped her foot on the floor, her arms crossed as she waited for an answer from her boyfriend, "Well?"

Tracey cringed and turned around nervously, "W-Well, interesting in a _good _way of course!" he stammered, "I love you Daisy."

"Mhmm." Daisy smirked and gently smacked the back of Tracey's head, which brought laughter from Misty. "At any rate," the blonde said, "Tracey's not here for just any old visit."

Misty suddenly became suspicious, "Daisy, what's going on _now?"_

"Oh nothing, it's just…I think that a letter just isn't _potent _enough…I think we need to raise the stakes a little." Daisy smiled and let Tracey walk up with a camera in his hands, a smile on his face as well, "Say cheese sis!"

Misty's eyes widened in horror, "Oh no, no you _don't!"_Misty tried to hide her face from the couple, "You can't take a picture of me looking like _this!_ I look like I just finished up a Gym Battle!"

"Uh…you _did _just finish up a Gym Battle." Daisy replied matter-of-factly.

"Oh…right." Misty mumbled.

"Don't worry Misty, _everything's _under control, you're in good hands!" Tracey reassured.

_"You're_ treading on thin ice Trace," Misty scowled at her soon to be _ex-_friend, "And what are _you _doing with a camera anyway? You _draw_, you're not a photographer!"

Tracey got a little nervous, but having Daisy there to back him up gave him some extra – and much needed – courage, "I'm an _artist_, and photography is just another _form _of art!" he argued, "And besides, I've been waiting for you and Ash to get together ever since we traveled together in the Orange Islands! I think it's _great _that Daisy's trying to help, I'd really like to see you get the happiness you deserve."

Misty shrunk back at Tracey's gentle answer; she wasn't ready for such an astute…and sweet rebuttal. Misty then looked back at Daisy, who was still smiling at her with a sisterly kind of love she had rarely _ever _experienced in her whole sixteen year life…none of what was happening made any sense. "Daisy…why?" she asked sincerely, "Why do all this for _me?"_

"Because you're my little sister, and I've got a _lot _to make up for after all the _grief _I've caused you while we were growing up." Daisy placed her hands on Misty's shoulders and looked her square in the eyes, "It's clear to me that you get your passion for battling and _everything else _you do from that boy, he _inspires _you, the same way _you _inspire others. And eventually…the well runs dry Misty; _you _need a refill of passion that only _Ash _can give you."

Misty soaked in Daisy's words like she were a sponge, and in all truth, it made sense, every word of it. She _had _been feeling drained emotionally as of late, and maybe Daisy was right. Maybe she needed that refill that only a certain hat-wearing boy with a Pikachu could give…maybe this was just what she needed. "I don't know what to say."

"Don't say _anything_, just _stop _fighting us, and let us help you." Daisy replied.

Misty finally relinquished a sincere smile, and embraced her oldest sister in a way that she quite possibly never had before, with love and affection that only really close sisters ever shared, and Daisy apparently had that same caring inside her, as she gladly returned the gesture without awkwardness, "Ok, I'm in. Thanks Daisy."

"You're welcome." Daisy pulled away from the hug and looked at Tracey, "Babe, we've got work to do! Head outside and find the perfect spot to take that picture!"

"You got it!" Tracey turned and started to rush out, but just before he exited the room, he turned back to look at his old friend, "Congrats Misty!" he ran out, leaving the two sisters to themselves.

Misty laughed lightly and then looked at Daisy again, suddenly realizing something. "I-I _still_ look _terrible _you know." she giggled bashfully.

"Oh don't worry about _that, _I've got it _totally _covered." Daisy grabbed Misty's hand and led her out of the room.

Misty then realized something else, "Hey!" she exclaimed, "I just noticed! You haven't said 'like' even _once _for the past twenty minutes or so!"

Daisy gulped, "Uh…"

"Daisy…are you hiding something from me?" Misty asked with some amusement.

"Weeeelll…" Daisy turned around and pressed her fingers together nervously, "Between you and me…I outgrew that whole thing a few months ago…I only say it for Lily and Violet's sake…don't tell them ok?"

Misty couldn't help but laugh, "Well whaddya know? My sister has _finally _become _smart! _Isn't it _so _much better than being labeled as a blonde bimbo whose only claim to fame is her body?"

"Hey, for the record, _you _have the same genes _I _do, and whether you like it or not, _you're _gonna fill out and look like _me_ eventually; you're not gonna be a runt _forever."_

"When did you _ever _hear me say I didn't _want _a body like yours? My only issue was how you, Lily and Violet _flaunted _it all the time, I'm a _modest _girl, and I'd rather be considered intelligent and an _awesome _battler as opposed to what _you _three did for the majority of your teen years."

"Alright _modest girl_, you win for now. But I'm gonna remember this conversation when you and Ash get married one day, I'm pretty sure you won't have any problems _flaunting _the natural Sensational Sister curves _then."_

"Hmmph, I'm not relying on natural _anything, _unlike _you, _I actually _exercise_, which means when I get to be _your _age, I'm gonna put you, Lily and Violet to _shame!"_

"Oh…_puh-lease."_ Daisy gave Misty a gentle shove and the two sisters soon found themselves in the bathroom.

"Uh, what are we doing _here?" _Misty asked. Daisy didn't answer, and instead pushed Misty into the walk-in shower and turned on the water, "Daisy! What are you _doing?!"_

"I would've told you, but then you got all smug about your physical superiority, which by the way doesn't exist yet, should it _ever." _Daisy smirked, leaning against the wall next to the shower.

"I'm already on my way there Dais; it's only a matter of time." Misty replied matter-of-factly. "By the way, since you dumped me in the shower with my clothes on, _you _get to hold _these." _Misty dumped all her sopping wet clothes into her unsuspecting sister's arms, and the eldest Sensational Sister groaned in disgust, much to Misty's delight.

"Why are you doing this to me Misty?" Daisy whined.

"Because you're antagonizing me, I'm only about four inches shorter than you, so your…quote unquote, superiority isn't that impressive." Misty replied.

Daisy dumped the clothes on the floor and whipped her arms to shake the water off, "Yechh…" then she prepared her rebuttal, "More to it than height _little _sis, you neglected to mention the most important part, which would be the curves."

"I repeat, your quote unquote, superiority isn't that impressive." Misty turned the water off and grabbed the nearby towel and started to dry off, "Ok, I'm clean. Hand me my robe, will ya?"

Daisy rolled her eyes and did just that, "You should be nicer to me; I'm still here to help you impress your little soon-to-be boyfriend."

Misty walked out of the shower in her light blue robe and tied it around her tightly, "Now what?"

"Now…we make you beautiful!" Daisy almost squealed with excitement, which made Misty nervous.

"Daisy…you're not gonna turn me into a clown are you?" Misty gulped.

"Good grief." Daisy face-palmed, "We just finished having a serious sister-to-sister heart-to-heart, and you're worried about me _sabotaging _you?"

"Yes!" Misty exclaimed strenuously, "Almost if not _every _makeover I've _ever _had turned me into some sort of joke!"

"Well don't worry, I've got it covered. You're gonna look so good, even _I'll _be impressed, and _I'm _the one _giving _the makeover!" Daisy dragged Misty to her mirror in her room, and almost immediately began brushing Misty's still wet hair.

While Daisy did that, Misty looked around the room and cringed at all the pink in her room, _"My eyes are burning." _She thought to herself. "Ow! Daisy!" Misty scowled at her sister through the mirror.

"Sorry sis, but your hair is a big tangled mess, and it isn't even that long!" Daisy yanked on a tangle of red hair, invoking another loud shout of pain from her youngest sister, "No wonder you leave it in that side-ponytail all the time, who wants to deal with _this?"_

"For the record, I've – ow! Been growing my hair out a bit lately, and my ability…" Misty was cut off.

"Or lack thereof." Daisy quipped.

"Whatever…" Misty deadpanned, "My point is, I leave it in the ponytail because it keeps my hair from getting in my way during Pokémon battles."

"Well, this occasion has nothing to do with Pokémon battles. So, your hair is coming down." Daisy gave Misty's hair a few more brushstrokes and then finally stepped back. "There, finished. And now, a round of applause for Daisy, Sensational Sister and fashionista extraordinaire!"

Misty looked at herself in the mirror and smiled, she had to admit, Daisy did a great job. "Wow Daisy…" Misty ran her fingers through her straight red hair, "My hair's never looked so smooth before!"

"But of course! See? This is where years of practice in the fashion world comes in handy." Daisy laughed, "Now, time for makeup!"

"Uh…makeup?" Misty gulped.

"Don't worry, nothing _too _drastic, just a little touch up here and there, we're gonna show Ash _exactly _what he's missing out on!" Daisy started by grabbing a clear nail polish, and swiftly put on a coat on both her hands, and then she began work on her face while it dried.

"You know Daisy; I sure appreciate what you're doing for me." Misty said, as she observed her now clear-coat covered fingernails.

"Don't worry about it, I'm actually _enjoying _this! It's about time you let me put some glamour into your life!" Daisy grabbed a makeup brush and rubbed in some light blush, "Let's add some color to that face of yours."

Misty closed her eyes and allowed the brush to gently add a bit of pink to her cheeks, "That tickles." She giggled.

Daisy giggled as well, and put the brush away, and then took an eyeliner pencil, and carefully applied it to Misty's radiant bluish-green eyes. "Almost done Misty." Daisy then pulled out an eyelash brush, "Now hold still and close your eyes, this is a delicate process." Daisy gingerly applied the special brush to Misty's eyelashes, and almost like magic, the redhead's eyelashes became more defined, and were given the illusion of amazing and beautiful length. "Wow…" Daisy breathed in awe.

"What? What is it?" Misty asked.

"Keep your eyes closed Misty, I've just now decided that you're not allowed to see yourself until I'm finished, this…I-I-I can't even _begin _to describe how amazing this is." Daisy took some blue nail polish, "Put your hands on the table Misty, I'm gonna finish up your nails."

Misty nodded and placed her hands on the table, and once again she felt the nail polish being applied to her fingers. "What color are you painting them?" she asked.

"No spoilers baby sis, _trust _me, you will _not _be disappointed." Daisy finished with Misty's nails, and pulled out the final piece of equipment she needed. "Pucker up Misty, this is the final touch!" Misty acknowledged, and Daisy placed just a touch of very light pink lip gloss on her little sister's lips. "There…my masterpiece is complete!" Daisy exclaimed, "Misty…open your eyes, you're _beautiful!"_

Misty was somewhat reluctant to open her eyes, she had left herself _completely _open to whatever she wanted to do…but on the other hand, she really was excited to see what Daisy had done. Finally, Misty slowly opened her eyes, and she gasped at what she saw in the mirror. "Daisy…" Misty couldn't believe her eyes…what she saw couldn't _possibly _be real…and yet it was _clearly _her. "I…I don't know what to say…"

"You can say 'thank you'." Daisy suggested.

"Thank you!" Misty took the suggestion without hesitation, she had to admit, Daisy had done a _fantastic _job, "Alright! Let's go take that picture!" Misty started to hurry to find Tracey, but Daisy held her back.

"Hold on there sis, we're not finished yet!" Daisy said, holding Misty's wrist to keep her from leaving.

"We're not?" Misty replied, "What could _possibly _be left?"

"I didn't doll you up just so you could go out in _that!"_ Daisy pointed at her sister, referring to the robe she was still wearing.

Misty scanned herself and realized Daisy was right, she was still wearing her robe. "Oh yeah." She said bashfully, "I'll go get dressed!"

"Don't you _dare_ put those _tacky _suspenders on!" Daisy warned, "I've got something in my closet that should fit you _perfectly _now that you've filled out enough." Daisy hurried to her closet and started rummaging through all her old clothes.

"Let's try to keep _that _door closed, huh Dais? I'd rather _not_ get into another stupid argument about who's gonna be hotter than who in a few years." Misty said.

"Agreed." Daisy came back out of her closet holding a dark blue dress, "This used to be one of my favorites…now it should fit _you _perfectly." Daisy handed her sister the dress and waited for her to come out from putting it on. Once Misty came out, even Daisy was shocked, "Wow…it looks better on _you _than it did on _me!"_

"Really?" Misty looked in the mirror, and once again she was stunned. "Wow…" Misty scanned up and down, the sleeveless dress had two straps that went around her neck and connected at her chest area, it hugged her figure and went all the way down to her knees, and when she twirled, the dress flowed like water through a stream.

"Here, put _this _on." Daisy put a bracelet on Misty's left wrist, and the redhead was just completely dumbfounded.

"Daisy…I dunno how to thank you for this…" Misty said softly, almost as if she were talking to herself.

"You wanna know how to thank me?" Daisy replied, "Make sure that Ash knows how you feel about him, I can almost guarantee that he'll feel the same, I could see it in the way he gets excited whenever he talks to you." Misty just nodded, unable to speak anymore. She embraced her big sister again, and Daisy gladly reciprocated, "Hey, no crying now, we don't want the makeup to run!"

The two girls laughed, and they hurried to find Tracey, who was currently outside, working on something, "They sure are taking a long time."

"Tracey!" Misty exclaimed.

Tracey's attention was captured by Misty's voice, and when he saw her his eyes almost came out of his head, "Misty?" he said in shock, "Is that _you?"_

Misty blushed bashfully, "Yeah…it's me." She giggled.

"Boy, I better take a _really _good picture; I can just _see _Ash's face when he gets it! He's gonna think you're drop-dead _gorgeous!"_ Tracey exclaimed.

"Naw…Ash isn't that kind of a guy…" Misty replied.

"Sis, he's still a guy, no matter _how _dense he is, he's still wired to recognize beauty when he sees it." Daisy walked over to Tracey, "Now get in position, it's snapshot time!"

"Ok Misty, take a few steps to your left, and then back up a little." Tracey instructed. Misty did just that, and she wound up standing perfectly in the center of the Gym which was in the background. "Perfect!" Tracey exclaimed. "Except…something seems…off…"

"Off?" the two girls said simultaneously.

"Yeah…" Tracey scratched his chin in thought, then he snapped his fingers and whispered something into Daisy's ear.

Upon hearing what Tracey had to say, Daisy's eyes widened and she too examined Misty, "You know what Tracey? I think you're right!" Daisy walked over to Misty and pulled a hair band out of her pocket, and in no time Misty's hair was back in its old sideways ponytail, except that it was much neater and a little longer than it usually was, "There…you know, for that dress, I think having your hair up like that makes you look better than when it was down."

_"I _thought it _first!"_Tracey exclaimed.

"Oh hush Tracey." Daisy waved her hand dismissively at her boyfriend, "Ok, we're all set!"

"Not yet!" Tracey exclaimed suddenly.

"Oh, _now _what?" Misty asked impatiently.

"I've got a little something here that'll add to the…emotion of the photo." Tracey walked up to Misty holding a small postcard like piece of paper that he had been working on while the girls were inside. "Hold this."

Misty took the postcard and looked it over, and her mouth suddenly hung open slightly in shock. The postcard read "I miss you" in very artistic letters, but the _real _kicker was that there was a heart acting as the dot for the lowercase "i" in "miss". "You trying to hint at something Tracey?" Misty smirked.

"It's time Ash knew the truth; he should be ready by _now." _Tracey replied.

"Ok, this time, _for sure,_we're all set!" Daisy looked over at Tracey, "Unless _you _have another surprise I don't know about."

"As a matter of fact!" Tracey gave out a sharp whistle, and Azurill came bouncing out from behind a large rock, "Go over there by Misty, Azurill!" Azurill nodded and bounced over to her human mother figure, and she stood upright on her tail so she could be in the picture.

"Aww, what a cute little flower you have!" Misty cooed, as she noticed the small red flower that Tracey had evidently attached to Azurill's head.

_"Now _we're all set." Tracey said assuredly, "Now smile!"

"Wait!" Misty exclaimed.

"What's the matter?" Daisy asked.

"Nothing…i-it's just…" Misty sighed, "Thank you _both_ for doing all this…I'll never be able to repay you for all that you've done for me today, but heaven knows I'll try. And you know…I got so excited with all this, I forgot to mention I never actually thought of anything to write to Ash."

Daisy and Tracey smiled at each other and then smiled back at Misty, "There's plenty of time to write _after _this! And these services are free of charge! The only payment we'll accept is your happiness." Tracey said.

"And maybe some nieces and nephews in the distant future." Daisy giggled.

Misty blushed crimson, _"Daisy!"_she shouted in embarrassment.

"I'm teasing!" Daisy laughed, "Ok Tracey, we've wasted enough time, do it!"

"Smile you two!" Tracey pointed the camera and focused the lens, until he had the perfect picture set, "Alright, one…two…three!"

The picture snapped, and Misty hurried over to the camera to see how it came out, "How does it look?" she asked excitedly. Misty's face fell when she saw what had happened. _"PSYDUCK!"_

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

_Dear Ash,_

_I'm writing you because it's been kinda hard to find you over the phone these days, you've been pretty busy it seems. I've been watching you, your name is all over the trainer networks, all the accomplishments you've pulled off, all the adventures you've had over the years, it makes me sad when I know that I can't be there with you, sharing those adventures like we used to. But at the same time, I'm filled with pride when I see you doing all these things, to think that I was there with you when you were just a rookie trainer starting out, and then seeing how much you've grown as a trainer, and as a person, it makes my admiration for you grow even stronger. You wanna know something Ash? A man recently came to the Gym and challenged me to a battle, and he told me how I was his inspiration to go on a journey. Daisy tells me how it's great that I inspire people, but you know (and I can't _believe _she had the insight to say something like this), she pointed out how_I _seem to have lost the passion and inspiration to battle lately…and the truth is Ash, she's right. I inspire lots of people it seems, and in doing so, I need some inspiring myself…a refill of passion you could say…I guess what I'm trying to say is…_you're my _inspiration. You Ash Ketchum, give me the strength to never give up in anything I do, your passion fuels my own,_you _are_ my _passion…well…long story short…I sure miss you Ash, I hope we get to see each other real soon, it would do wonders for my spirits…and…maybe it'd do wonders for yours I hope?_

_Love,_

_Misty_

"Whaddya got there Ash?" Iris exclaimed suddenly, peeking up over the trainer's shoulder.

"Hmm? Oh, just a letter from an old friend." Ash replied distantly, never looking away from the picture Misty sent him.

"Are you _sure?"_Cilan asked, "You seem to have a far off look in your eyes."

"Do I?" Ash chuckled lightly, "I guess it's just because it's been a _really _long time since I've seen her."

"Ahh, young love." Cilan said, almost dreamily, "I can tell just by looking at this picture that she's a warm and caring person who misses you deeply."

"Love?" Ash asked in shock.

"Well _duh!"_Iris deadpanned, pulling an apple out of her hair and biting into it, "She dotted that 'i' with a heart! It couldn't _be _more obvious!"

"She did…didn't she?" Ash suddenly felt a feeling well up inside him that he hadn't felt in a long time…not since the last time he saw Misty in person, "Guys…I have a plan."  
_

**A/N: Whaddya think? Oh, and in case you wanna see the pic it's based on, check out Simply-Nicole on deviantART!**


	2. Ash's Epiphany

_**Finally**_**I managed to get this out. Today I finally found some inspiration to write this chapter, and I think it might be pretty good. Anyways, this is the second installment of the three part series inspired by the artwork of Simply-Nicole. This chapter showcases Ash's journey back to Kanto, and his revelation to the fact that...well, you'll see. I own nothing except for the story.****  
**_

On a train heading to Johto, Ash Ketchum and his travelling companions from Unova were on yet another leg of their rather lengthy detour to the Kanto Region…specifically, Cerulean City, the home of a certain redheaded girl who had sent Ash a touching letter and beautiful photo of herself just a few days before. "Sure wish we coulda gotten on the high speed train." Ash grumbled to himself, as he stared out the window and watched the scenery passing by, albeit much too slowly for his tastes.

"I still don't get why we're going through all this trouble!" Iris huffed, "I mean, I get that you miss your friend and all, but we're going like…halfway around the _world _because of a letter!"

"Now now Iris," Cilan said calmly, "Surely you must be able to sense the aroma of Ash's passion towards this particular goal?"

"Not really, no." Iris slid lower in her seat, further demonstrating her displeasure for the trip they were taking.

Cilan shook his head with an amused smile, then turned his attention back to Ash, who was completely oblivious to the conversation taking place. "Ash?"

It took a brief moment, but Ash's brain eventually registered that Cilan had addressed him, "Hmm?" Ash turned from the window to look at his green haired friend, "You say something Cilan?"

"Yes he did!" Iris snapped before slouching back into her seat, "Little _kid._" she grumbled.

"Iris, would you do me a favor and get us all some water? I'm feeling rather parched." Cilan said.

"Fine! _Anything_ to get up and move! This whole sitting still thing is _killing_ me!" Iris got up and hurried into the next car to see if she could find some refreshments…and maybe even find something exciting to do since she was bored out of her mind.

"And she calls _me _a kid." Ash snickered.

"That's just Iris." Cilan chuckled, but then got serious as he looked into Ash's eyes, "Tell me what's on your heart Ash, I can sense something troubling in you."

Ash exhaled through his nose and looked out the window again, leaning his cheek against his palm, "It's been a long time since I've seen her Cilan," the trainer said almost absent-mindedly, "She's my best friend, and…when I saw that picture," Ash grabbed his backpack and pulled out the envelope Misty had sent both the photo and the letter in, and took another longing look at the photo, at the beautiful girl portrayed in it. "You know when we were first travelling together, almost everyone would make jokes about me and Misty being a couple, that we were made for each other…" he smiled as he reminisced on old times, "We always denied it," he said with a laugh, "But…since it's been so long…and…remembering just how pretty she really was…I'm wondering if maybe I was wrong to deny it all the time."

Cilan smiled, "You love this girl."

"Wh-what?!" Ash gawked, "Whoa Cilan, I said I was _wondering,_ I _didn't _say I _loved _her."

"You don't _have _to, I can tell just by the way you talk about her, you have a level of tenderness in your voice that you've _never_ exhibited before, that seemingly insignificant little factor is enough for me to tell that your love for her runs as deep as the ocean itself." Cilan said.

Ash scoffed, "Poetic much?"

"Scoff if you will, I'm _not _wrong." Cilan leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms smugly.

By this time, Iris came back with three bottles of water, and she tossed them to her friends and sat back down in her seat to take a swig from her water. "So…what'd I miss?" when she saw the tense expression on Ash's face, and then the smug one on Cilan's, she got confused, "Whoa, what _happened?"_

The rest of the trip was quiet, Ash quietly debated with himself what his true feelings for Misty were, _"Cilan _can't _be right…how can he say I love Misty when he's never even _met _Misty before? He doesn't even know _me _that well yet, where's Brock when I need him? _He'd _be able to help…"_

"Well, here we are, the Goldenrod City Pokémon Center." Cilan said.

"I'm not even tired yet! I wanna go check out the really big building over there!" Iris exclaimed excitedly.

Ash's head snapped up when he heard Iris say that, he smelled an opportunity, "Cilan, why don't you and Iris go check it out? I'll get us our room!"

"You want us to leave you by yourself?" Cilan asked.

"Puh-_lease,_ we can't leave a little kid like him by himself!" Iris scoffed in annoyance.

Ash clenched his fists, "I am _not _a kid Iris! For crying out loud, I am _older _than _you _are!"

"Doesn't matter!" Iris shouted back, "I'm talking about mental maturity and training prowess!"

"I've never told you this before Iris, but I have a _long _resume beyond what little I've done here in Unova, if you had seen the stuff I've pulled off over the past six years of my life, you would consider me an _idol_, not a kid." Ash then turned his attention to Cilan before Iris could offer a rebuttal, "Cilan, take her to the Goldenrod Department Store please, take her shopping, I need to do something in the Pokémon Center." Ash stormed into the Center with Pikachu trailing behind him.

"What is _up _with him?" Iris huffed.

"Iris, Ash is on an endeavor far beyond what you're currently seeing. Perhaps if you're willing to listen, I'll explain." Cilan replied.

Iris's mouth shaped into an 'o' shape as she looked at the Pokémon Connoisseur, "Uh…I guess I'm willing."

Cilan smiled with satisfaction at that response, "Excellent. Come with me."

Back in the Pokémon Center, Ash was bypassing the help desk and heading straight to the videophones, "Lousy stinking Iris, every day it's the same insult, at least with _Misty_ it was always different." Ash shook his head and sat himself down in front of a videophone, and proceeded to dial, "Sure hope he's home." After a few moments, a familiar and friendly face appeared on the screen, "Hey Brock!"

"Ash! Hey, how are you man?" Brock laughed in delight at the sight of his old friend, "It sure has been a while, how are things going over there in Unova?"

"Uh well…to tell you the truth…" Ash chuckled sheepishly as he scratched the back of his neck, "I'm not _in _Unova right now, I'm here in Goldenrod City in Johto."

This information shocked Brock, "What are you doing in Johto?"

"Well…" Ash suddenly felt his cheeks start to heat up, "Johto's only a temporary stop, I'm actually on my way back to Kanto…" Ash hesitated to relinquish the info he was about to reveal to Brock…but after a second thought, he remembered that he had actually called Brock for advice, so he had to open his heart. "On my way to Cerulean City…to see Misty."

When Ash told him that, Brock couldn't help but smile. "I guess her letter worked then."

"What?!" Ash gawked, "You _knew _about the letter?!"

"Yeah, Misty told me about it a few days ago." Brock chuckled, "She's gonna be _thrilled _when she finds out that it worked!"

"You think?" Ash looked at his friend hopefully, but then he remembered why he had called to begin with. "N-Never mind that!" he exclaimed, shaking his head to try and get his mind back on track, "I called you for advice."

"I'm all ears." Brock replied.

Ash hesitated for a moment, shifting his eyes back and forth like he didn't want to look Brock in his eyes…which he didn't. "See…one of my new travelling partners…Cilan…he says he can tell…and I'm not even sure about this! He says that…he can tell that I'm in _love _with _Misty _of all people! I mean, is that _crazy _or what?!"

"He's right." Brock replied without so much as blinking and without hesitation.

"I was _hoping _you wouldn't say that." Ash sighed and placed his face in the palms of his hands. After a moment or two of silence, Ash exhaled and looked at Brock and tried to find some signs that he was kidding. Brock looked dead serious. "So I really _am _in love with Misty?"

"I was _really _hoping you'd figure it out _before _she left, but you were still too naïve and unaware to realize it. I've _always _known Ash. You and Misty share a special connection that _no one, _not May, not Dawn, not _any other _girl we've ever met, has ever been able to replicate. That's why I'm so happy to see you heading to Cerulean _now, _and I _hope _you're going to do what I _think _you're going to do." Brock said.

Ash had listened to every word Brock had said, and he realized that the Pokémon doctor in training was absolutely right. He thought more of Misty than anyone else, as biased as that sounded. Sure, May was special to him, she was a great friend, and on a minor note she was very well developed for her age…but in Ash's mind…so what? Dawn was a good friend, very upbeat, beautiful hair, but again…so what? Brock was right. Misty, runt of the litter, temperamental tomboy…so what? She was _Misty_. _His _Misty. Looks didn't matter, body didn't matter, Misty's incredibly unique heart and mind was more than enough for him…but as he looked back on their time together, he realized that even back then, he had noticed Misty's beauty both inside and out, and he had never been able to put two and two together and realize how much he loved her…all he knew _now, _beyond the shadow of a doubt, was that he _did _love her, and he _missed _her, _desperately._ "Brock…I get it." He said almost mindlessly.

"So there _is _a feeling of tenderness in the heart of Ash Ketchum." Brock chuckled, "I knew you'd come around eventually Ash, now go on, you probably have a train to catch!"

"You're right Brocko! I _do!" _Ash got up and was about to run off, but then he turned back to say goodbye, "Thanks for everything Brocko, I owe you!"

"No problem! Just make sure you make me your best man when you two get married!" The Pokémon doctor joked.

Ash laughed and hung up the videophone, and hurried to find Iris and Cilan. Upon reaching the Goldenrod City Department Store, Ash spotted Iris and Cilan sitting on a bench in front of the building, and apparently Iris had gotten hungry, as she was busy peeling an orange. "Come on guys!" the trainer exclaimed.

"What? Did you get our rooms?" Iris asked with her mouth full.

"Nope! We're taking the train right to Cerulean City!" Ash said determinedly, a fist raised in the air as he stared into the distance.

"We're _WHAT?!" _Iris was about to give Ash the scolding of a lifetime, but Cilan quickly cut her off by placing his hand over her mouth.

"Lead the way my friend!" Cilan said, much to Iris's dismay.

With a nod, Ash hurried to the train station to buy the tickets, while Iris glared furiously at the Pokémon Connoisseur. "Are you _insane?_ Sleep is important you know!"

"Ash's mission is _more _important. I promise I'll find a way to make it up to you when this is all over and done with, but for now, we _must _be supportive!" Cilan replied.

Iris rolled her eyes and looked away from the green-haired boy, "Whatever, let's go." She started walking towards the train station, in a rather lazy and annoyed fashion.

Cilan chuckled and shook his head with amusement, "One day my dear, you'll see the importance of love."

The trio rode the train overnight; Ash was unable to sleep because of the excitement that came with the thought of seeing his Misty again after all this time, "She's probably changed a lot too, huh Pikachu?"

"Pika chu." (Probably.)

"Maybe she even grew her hair out a little! I've always loved when she let her hair down." The boy said dreamily. Ash glanced over at his two Unova travelling partners, and was able to witness Iris unconsciously snuggling up to Cilan with a content smile on her face, as she buried her head full of hair into his chest, "Looks like I'm not the _only _one in love…you know Pikachu, I've actually felt this way before, but it's only been while I was around Misty. No one else has ever made me feel this good inside. I sure wish I had something to give her," Ash pulled out the picture one more time, and gently rubbed his finger against the image of Misty's cheek, "After all, she sent me this picture and letter…that's it! Follow me Pikachu, I've got an idea!" Ash got up and ran to the next car with Pikachu trailing behind; little did he know that he was being watched.

Cilan opened his eyes all the way and smiled, "Good job Ash." Then he looked down at the girl who was softly snoring, using his body as a cushion for her head. "Looks like this trip will be rewarding for _me_ too." Cilan softly wrapped his arms around Iris, and the dragon-trainer stirred slightly only to cuddle closer to him and let out a content sigh, "Perhaps you're closer to understanding love than you think." Resting his head in Iris's thick purple locks, he drifted off to sleep; using the soft breathing of the girl he was holding to soothe him into slumber.

The next day, Ash woke up to find the train was slowing down, and it stopped in front of the Cerulean City train station, "We're here!" he whispered excitedly, "We're here!" he then exclaimed loudly, accidentally waking up his friends.

"Nice going Ash!" Iris spat, "I was having one of the _best _dreams of my whole _life!"_Iris then realized that she was leaning up against Cilan; her head shot up and she found herself almost nose to nose with the connoisseur, who was looking at her tenderly, "I-I uh…sorry." Iris pushed Cilan away and hurried off the train, racking her brain to try and figure out why on earth she had done what she did.

"Come on Cilan, the gym isn't that far from here, we gotta hurry!" Ash exclaimed, motioning for him to follow.

"Alright Ash." Cilan chuckled and got up, stretching as he did so, his sleep had been heavenly…for obvious reasons. "So we'll finally get to meet Misty in person, I'm actually rather excited; she seems to be a very interesting person."

"She _is,_" Ash said, "But _you _won't be meeting her, at least not _right away."_ At this, Cilan was confused, "I wanna be the first one she sees, I want to have a few minutes alone with her, just so I can talk to her in private."

Cilan smiled and nodded at the trainer, "I understand. Come on, let's go!"

Within minutes, the trio found themselves in front of the aquarium-like Cerulean City Gym, "We're here! _Finally!"_But suddenly, the doors to the gym opened, and Ash reacted by leaping behind one of the bushes next to the entrance, pulling Iris and Cilan down with him, "Shh!" Just as Ash suspected, Misty walked out of the door, adorned in her usual yellow t-shirt and jean shorts, with the difference being that now she was wearing a swimming coat, one that was used to cover up from the sun. "Wow, she's even more beautiful than I thought." He sighed quietly.

"Now's your chance Ash, go!" Cilan prodded.

Ash nodded and silently tip-toed over to the doors of the gym, with Pikachu perched on his shoulder also anxious for Misty to see them. _"This is it!"_

Misty was looking down the dirt road leading into town, still wishing that for some reason she would see Ash walking down it to come and see her, and confess his love for her…but it would seem that for the fourth day in a row, her fantasy would remain just that: a fantasy. "I don't even know why I keep coming out here," she said with a sad chuckle, "It's not like coming out here will make him appear in front of me." Misty turned around to head back into the gym and prepare for another long day of battling, but she took two shocked steps back when she saw a figure standing in front of her, holding a sign that read 'I miss you so bad it hurts', and a Pikachu on the boy's shoulder, holding his own little note card with his paw prints on it.

"Hey Mist." Ash blushed, and he didn't bother to hide it. The whole point of coming was _because _he loved her, hiding it would defeat the purpose. And seeing how much she had grown, how much more beautiful she had become in person, this whole trip had all at once become more than worth the trouble.

As for Misty, she was gaping at him in disbelief, here was this boy who looked and sounded just like Ash, although much taller than the Ash she knew, he was her height at least! He was even more handsome now than he was years ago, and despite seeing him there, smiling at her tenderly, she still couldn't help but think this was a dream, "Ash…is it really you?"

"Like the sign says Misty…I missed you so bad…it hurt."  
_

**Pretty sweet huh? Cilan planted the seed, and Brock made it bloom. So what will happen now that Ash and Misty have reunited? You'll have to stay tuned. I have to admit, I was seriously suffering from writer's block with this story, but after reading a couple of stories and seeing a few drawings, I was able to get into gear and write this up. I was so worried about making it a long chapter, that I forgot that oneshots don't have to be painfully long stories. lol. Well anyway, I'll get back to AAML: D&P soon, I gotta find some inspiration for that next, in the meantime, enjoy this story! And be sure to check out Simply-Nicole to see the picture this story is based on!**


	3. Together Again

**Well...once I got out the second one, the inspiration just flowed like crazy! I managed to get out the third one fairly quickly I think, and I think this one is the second best of the three part series...the best one is definitely the first lol. So, I'm not gonna wait anymore, just read! I own nothing except the story.  
_**

"Ash wh…what are you doing _here? _You're supposed to be trying to get into the Unova League!" Misty exclaimed, still in shock over seeing Ash in front of her.

"Well…I got this letter." As Ash pulled out the letter Misty had sent him, he looked up briefly to see her face had suddenly become beet red, which got him to laugh softly, "And…there's this _really _pretty girl in the picture that came with it…I was wondering if…maybe you knew who she was?"

"Um…y-y-yeah, I have a pretty good idea." The redhead stammered, her heart beating too fast for her to talk correctly, "Y-You could've just _called _y'know."

"I could've…but…" Ash began walking up to the Gym Leader, who seemed to be getting more flustered the closer he got, "Somehow a phone call just…wouldn't be able to fix this empty feeling I have here." Ash motioned to his heart, "I really _have _missed you y'know, and after seeing that photo of you, and that letter you sent…well…it only reminded me of just _how much _I missed you."

Misty's heart was about to burst, it sounded as if Ash was confessing or something! But…he hadn't used the words "I love you", all he was saying was that he missed her, which was understandable, they'd been best friends pretty much ever since they met. _"I'm getting ahead of myself here, I gotta calm down!"_ Misty tried to loosen up a little so she could speak to Ash on a normal level…and by normal, she meant trigger an argument, "Wait, you needed a _reminder _of how much you missed me? That means you _forgot _you missed me! Which also means you forgot _me!"_

Ash backed up fast, he didn't wanna be in range of Misty's mallet in case she still carried that thing around, "I-I didn't forget you Mist!" Now it was Ash's turn to get flustered, as Misty began stomping up to him. Pikachu dropped his little note card and scurried away, as he didn't want to be a secondary target of Misty's wrath, "I-It's just that, I was busy you know? I try to contact you every chance I get! And that isn't often!"

"So you're _so _busy that every time you stop off at a Pokémon Center, or a contest hall, or _anywhere else, _that you can't take five minutes to just call and say 'Hey Misty, how ya doing? How goes the Gym Leader life?'? You can't even do _that?!" _By this time Ash had his back to the wall of the gym, and Misty was right up in his face, unfortunately for her, being so close to him made her realize that she in fact did _not _have the height advantage any longer. He was taller than her, albeit barely. "That hurts Ash, it hurts a lot!"

Ash was about to offer a rebuttal, a lame one of course…but looking at her face, how hurt she really did seem, he stopped himself. And just hung his head and dropped his shoulders in shame. "I'm sorry." He mumbled, "I _know _I should've called more, and I really wish I _could've. _It hurts _me _too Mist…being away from my best friend for so long, not being able to laugh with you, spend time with you, just hanging out you know? But I'm here _now! _And it's all because of that letter you sent! You made me realize that I couldn't stand to not see you for any longer! I _had _to come down and visit or I think my heart might've exploded!" Ash raised his head to look at Misty; her face had lost its angry expression sometime during his speech, and now showed a feeling of astonishment. Acting purely on impulse, Ash took Misty's face into his hands, "It's great to see you again." He breathed.

Misty's heart was beating a mile a minute now; this just _had _to be a dream! The Ash she knew would _never _have the nerve to do what he was doing. She exhaled shakily as Ash's hands caressed her face, "A-A-Ash…I-I…" Misty was about to mirror Ash's movements and caress his face, but suddenly she heard a sneeze coming from behind one of the bushes next to the gym, and she jumped away from Ash and grabbed Gyarados's Pokéball and held it up high, "Alright, out of there whoever you are!" she shouted threateningly.

"Wait Mist!" Ash grabbed the Gym Leader's arm and slowly pulled it down, much to the confusion of the redhead, "Alright guys, come on out and meet Misty." Ash said, somewhat disappointed that he hadn't gotten up the nerve to say what was _really _on his heart.

Nervously, both Cilan and Iris rose up from behind the hedge and came out from behind it to meet the girl who had almost beaten the snot out of Ash. "Greetings Misty, I am Cilan, one of the Gym Leaders of the Striaton Gym in the Unova Region, it's a pleasure to meet you." He said in his usual well-mannered way.

"And I'm Iris; I don't have an official title. But I _am _looking to become a Dragon Pokémon Master!" Iris exclaimed.

"Wait, you're not looking to become a top coordinator?" Misty asked in shock.

"Uh, no…why do you ask?" Iris blinked in confusion.

"No, it's just that both of the girls Ash traveled with after I stopped travelling with him have been coordinators; I'm a little surprised that you're _not _one. Did Ash trash your bike too?" Misty glanced at Ash with a teasing smirk after saying that.

"Hey!" Ash exclaimed indignantly, "You got your bike back, are you _ever _gonna let that go?"

"What on earth are you talking about? I don't even _own _a bike." Iris said, looking back and forth at Ash and Misty.

"Oh you mean he never _told _you?" Misty smirked at Ash who was waving his hands back and forth; trying to signal to Misty not to tell them the story…she got it, but chose to ignore it. "When I first met Ash, I fished him out of a river with my special lure, and as thanks…he stole my bike, _trashed _it, and that's how I wound up travelling with him, and he did the exact same thing with May and Dawn, his _other_ two travelling partners when he met _them."_

"Look, in my defense, it was _technically Pikachu _that trashed your bikes." Ash suddenly got blasted with a 'Thunderbolt' that left him completely fried and his hair sticking out in all directions, "Thanks for that Pikachu." The trainer grumbled.

"Serves you right for throwing poor Pikachu under the bus!" Misty exclaimed, "Shame on you Ash!"

"Yeah! Quit being such a little kid!" Iris added.

"Arrgh!" Ash started banging his head against the gym wall, there was that insult again, "Misty, quick! Use one of _your _insults on me! I am _so tired _of Iris calling me a _kid! _That is the _only _insult she knows!"

Misty looked at Iris, who just shrugged at her, "Hey, you _gotta _come up with other insults, in Ash's defense; he's not the same little kid he was when _I _met him." Misty said.

"Thank you!" Ash shouted.

"However I'm still not willing to say he's not as dense as a brick." Misty said with a smirk.

Ash face-faulted after that, but he quickly recovered and walked back up to the group, "Well, if it's ok with you Mist, I'm gonna go inside and get cleaned up."

"Hey yeah! Come on in everyone!" Misty motioned for the group to follow her, and upon walking into the gym, the group saw most of Misty's Pokémon splashing around and enjoying themselves in the main pool. "Hey guys! We have company!" The Pokémon looked over and saw two unfamiliar trainers…and Ash. One Pokémon was absolutely ecstatic about seeing Ash again, and quickly jumped out of the pool and bounded over to jump into his arms, "Azurill missed you too apparently." Misty giggled.

"Hiya Azurill!" Ash laughed, "You're getting big! You gonna evolve into a Marill soon?"

"I've been thinking the same thing; I've been working with Azurill for a while now so she _should _be just about ready to evolve. Of course without Brock around, it's hard for me to tell for sure." Misty replied for the young Pokémon.

"I can help you with that!" Cilan suddenly got up close to Azurill with a magnifying glass in his hand, "It's evaluating time!" Cilan took Azurill from Ash and placed her into the bewildered redhead's arms, and began looking both Azurill and Misty over.

"Ash…what is he doing?" Misty asked nervously, a sweat-drop on her face as Cilan stuck his magnifying glass right in front of her face.

"Uh, lemme explain." Ash chuckled, scratching the back of his head, "See, Cilan's a Pokémon Connoisseur, he's able to evaluate how strong the relationship between a trainer and a Pokémon is just by looking at them! But...I guess since he's never met you or Azurill before, he has to look…closely."

"Indeed!" Cilan affirmed, "I've _never_ been able to see an _Azurill _in _person_ before, when I met Ash's Pikachu for the first time, I was _ecstatic!_ It's a very rare occasion when a _Kanto_ Pokémon makes its way all the way to Unova!" Cilan backed off and put his magnifying glass away. "According to my observations, you and your Azurill share a _very _special bond!"

_"I _coulda told you _that _Cilan!" Ash exclaimed, "Misty _loves_ her Pokémon! She's working on becoming a Water Pokémon Master after all, that's part of the reason why I like her so much!"

Misty suddenly blushed at that, "Wait, what?"

Ash also blushed when he realized what he had said, "W-W-Well you know what I mean, you're my best friend!"

"Oh…right, o-of course." Misty looked away and cleared her throat before turning her attention back to Iris and Cilan, "So, as long as you all are here, how'd you like to take a swim?"

"That sounds _great! _I was _so _bored on my way here! It's about _time _I got to enjoy myself! I'll go get my swimsuit!" Iris hurried off into the gym to find a place to change.

"Hey wait! You don't know where you're going!" Misty called out. Unfortunately, Iris had already disappeared into the gym. "She's gonna get _lost."_

"I'll go after her," Cilan volunteered, "Just tell me where your restrooms are and I'll lead her there, I _am _the navigator of the group after all."

"Oh so it's _your _job to keep Ash from getting everybody _lost."_ Misty giggled, "The restrooms are over there, go get Iris and get changed. It's been a _long _time since I've had any company around here."

"Thank you, we'll be right back." Cilan jogged off in search of Iris, leaving the two best friends alone once again.

"What did you mean when you said it's been a long time since you've had company? Haven't Brock and Tracey been showing up? And come to think of it, where are your _sisters? _They haven't gone on another cruise have they?" Ash's temper kicked in when he said that, he didn't appreciate the first time Misty's sisters did that and left her all alone…not to mention take his best friend away from him.

"No, they're around here _somewhere,_ but be honest Ash; do you _honestly _believe that I consider my sisters as company? They barely acknowledge my existence as it is…well…" Misty tapped her chin, "Maybe I'm being unfair to Daisy, after all it _was her _who helped me get all dolled up for the uh…photo." Misty blushed a little at the mention of the photograph she sent.

Ash suddenly felt shameful again, "Wow Mist…" he said regretfully, "I had no idea you were so lonely here…I always thought that you still had friends come over and you were able to just hang out…now I _really _feel bad about not calling you more."

"Oh Ash," Misty didn't feel upset at the black haired trainer for that anymore, seeing how heartbroken he was over his mistake had softened her up. She raised his head so he could look at her, "I forgive you, ok? I'm just glad you're here _now, _and we can have fun just like old times! Come on, get in your bathing suit, we're gonna do some swimming, it'll be nice to have some human company in the pool for a change."

Ash smiled and suddenly brought the redhead in for a tight embrace, much to her shock…and pleasure. "Misty…there's…something I wanted to tell you." He said, stroking the redhead's hair as he held her.

Misty's heart was beating a mile a minute again, Ash was _hugging _her! And stroking her _hair! _This was really a dream come true…and…it seemed like it was about to reach the pinnacle moment. _"Easy Misty, don't get ahead of yourself, he might be saying something else…" _As much as she tried to convince herself that this was another 'just a friend' thing, her heart was screaming that this was about to become the moment she had been waiting for since the day she met him. "What is it Ash?" she asked softly.

Ash pulled back, holding her shoulders and looking right into her cerulean blue eyes, which seemed to shining in anticipation, "Misty…I…"

"What's going on here?" After seeing Iris come out in her lavender one-piece, the two broke apart, blushing profusely. "Come on! I'm already ready!"

"I'll um…see you in the pool." Misty hurried off to change, leaving Ash to stand there in disappointment.

"Iris, I think you interrupted something important." Cilan said.

"Something important? What do you…" Iris's eyes suddenly widened, "Ohhhh…I'm sorry Ash, I didn't mean to." Iris hung her head in shame.

Ash smiled sympathetically and pet Iris's head as he walked by to change into his bathing suit, "I almost did it…I'll have to make it work later on."

"I ruined things didn't I?" Iris sighed sadly.

Cilan placed a hand on the dragon trainer's shoulder and smiled at her, "Just a simple case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. It's not your fault. Besides, I have no doubt that before the day is over, Ash will confess his feelings to Misty."

"Yeah…" Cilan suddenly wanted to try and hint towards his own feelings towards her, since she seemed to be getting a deeper understanding of what love was all about…but then the old Iris came back, "I wonder where Misty has her kitchen, I'm kinda hungry."

"Oh well. Maybe next time." Cilan sighed.

"What?"

"Never mind Iris, come on, race you to the pool!" Cilan took off running.

"Hey! No fair getting a head start!" Iris chased after the connoisseur, splashing in after him and making a wave that threw a lot of Pokémon, including Pikachu and Axew, out of the water. "Sorry guys!"

While they had fun, both Ash and Misty were having similar thoughts. Ash was kicking himself over not telling Misty what was really on his heart, while Misty was trying to figure out what was going on in Ash's heart. He was acting so out of character, it honestly scared her. But there was nothing they could do at the moment, so they decided to just get changed and try to have fun. Unfortunately, they both came out from changing at the same time, so they wound up literally bumping into each other. And the sight of each other made them _both _blush.

_"Whoa…she's _definitely _not the 'runt' anymore."_ Misty was wearing a light blue two-piece swimsuit that showed a small amount of cleavage, and it was quite clear that Misty had kept herself in good shape, as her stomach was flat and toned while her legs were well defined.

_"Wow…Ash really _has _grown, look at those abs!" _Ash was wearing simple red swimming trunks, but what caught the redhead's eye was how built Ash had become. His abs had become strong and toned, and he was even beginning to develop pecs, all the training and travelling had done a great job giving Ash exercise.

"Well…you're uh…lookin' good Mist." Ash said bashfully, scratching the back of his head.

"Thanks." Misty giggled, "You're not so bad yourself."

The two just stood there and smiled at each other for a moment, _"Come on Ash, we can't stand here forever, quit ogling her and say something!" _Ash made a move like he was going to run off, "Last one to the pool is a rotten Exeggcute!"

"Ash wait! The pool area is…" it was too late, by the time she had said that, Ash had slipped on a puddle and landed flat on his back with a hard thud, "Oooh…" Misty cringed, "That _had _to hurt." Misty hurried over to Ash as carefully as she could, and knelt down in front of the trainer who had swirls in his eyes, "Ash? Ash, you ok?"

Ash babbled incoherently for a moment or two, but eventually he blinked a few times and came to his senses. "Did I win?" he asked, rubbing his aching head.

"You moron! You could've cracked your skull in half! Did you come all the way here to _die?!" _Misty spat incredulously.

"Not last I checked." Ash slowly got up and flexed the areas of his body that ached to check the extent of the damage. Luckily all he felt was a slight pain in his back and tailbone, "Everything seems to be intact."

"You got lucky Ash! Maybe you should've been more careful instead of acting like a little…" Iris was abruptly cut off.

_"Don't _say 'kid'!" Misty exclaimed, If you're gonna insult Ash, you're gonna have to come up with something more original than that!"

"Besides Iris, I believe _we _had a similar race as well, Ash just got unlucky is all that happened." Cilan added.

Iris, mountain of hair and all, just sunk under the water and sulked after nobody took her side, _"Ash better 'confess' or whatever soon, this Misty girl is cramping my style!"_

"How does she handle all that hair anyway?" Misty asked. Both Ash and Cilan just shrugged at that. "I'll have to ask her later."

"Why? Are you planning on growing your hair out?" Ash asked.

The way Ash had asked the question gave Misty the impression that he was actually _hoping_ she would say yes. "Well I already _have_ grown it out a bit…but I'm considering letting it grow a little longer." She said cautiously.

Ash beamed at that response, "I think you'd look great if you grew out your hair, I _did _always like it when you let your hair down."

Misty blushed and smiled coyly, and decided to oblige to Ash's desires and let her hair out of its hairband, and shook out her hair so that it framed her face, "Like this?"

Ash looked at her dreamily, "Yeah…just like that." It took him a moment to realize he was ogling her again, and when his brain kicked back in, he blushed and dove into the water as if to hide, _"Gotta stop that! I'm gonna freak her out!"_

Misty just stood there in a daze, one moment Ash was staring at her, the next he was gone, "Ok?"

"He's probably just a little flustered." Cilan chuckled, "After all, it's not every day we come face to face with a beautiful woman, let alone one that makes _Ash _react that way."

"Beautiful? Naw, not _me, _I'm the tomboy of the family." She replied with a dismissive laugh, _"But a girl can hope that Ash thinks that." _Misty sighed inwardly and got into the water as well, and together the group frolicked and goofed off, feeling like little kids again as they were able to play without even having to think about it. That is until another knock at the door. "I'll get it." Misty swam to the edge of the pool and climbed out, and still dripping wet, she answered the door to find a young ten year old boy looking up at her, "Can I help you?"

"Are you Misty? The Cerulean City Gym Leader?" the boy asked.

"That's me, are you a challenger looking to get a badge?" she asked back.

"You got it!" the boy replied, "The name's Justin! And I've come all the way from across the city to get a badge from you!" he exclaimed determinedly.

"Well…" Misty looked back over her shoulder and saw Ash and her new friends still playing in the pool, and for a moment she seriously considered telling this rookie trainer that the gym was closed for the day, which of course was false. But her sense of duty kicked in at the last minute, and Misty switched gears and came back to being the mature sixteen year old she had grown to be, with a sense of responsibility. "Alright, just gimme a minute to get ready." She nodded and smiled at the boy before closing the door on him. Depressed, the redhead sighed and went over to the pool to break the news to the frolicking teenagers, "Guys, you gotta get out."

The trio looked at Misty with confusion, "Why? What's the matter Mist?" Ash asked, leaning on the edge of the pool.

While Misty worked on squeezing the water out of her hair, she explained, "There's a challenger who wants a battle at the door. And I'm sure Cilan can relate to this…you know…duty calls." Misty put her hair band back on and her ponytail returned, much to Ash's disappointment.

"Indeed Misty." Cilan replied, "But this is a _wonderful _opportunity! My brother Cress happens to specialize in water-type Pokémon as well, so I'm very interested in seeing how _you _approach a gym battle."

"Really? A water-type leader? That's awesome! And sure, I'll show you what I'm made of, maybe I can even teach _Ash _a lesson or two, just like old times." Misty smirked at the trainer and winked at him playfully.

Ash just smirked right back, "Not a chance."

Once Misty dried off and changed back into her clothes and vest, she returned all her Pokémon to their Pokéballs, and got onto the platform to face Justin, who she had let in moments ago. "Daisy!" she shouted, "Get out here and referee will ya?"

A few minutes later, Daisy came walking down the stairs that led to where the family of sisters actually had their bedrooms, "Alright, I'm coming already." She said with a huff. When she reached Misty however, she noticed Ash and two others sitting in the stands, and the blonde had to fight herself in order to not let loose a happy squeal, "Misty, he's _here! _Our plan worked!" she whispered excitedly.

"Yes Daisy, he is, now get to your post, we can talk about this _later, _I have a challenger over there!" Misty hissed back.

Daisy put up her hands in self-defense and walked to the side of the battlefield with a smug smirk on her face, but before turning around, she couldn't help but mess with Misty a little, "Oh hi Ash! Like, when did you get here?" she asked dramatically.

Ash sweat-dropped at the exaggerated greeting, "Hi Daisy," he waved at the eldest Waterflower, "Been here for a while, getting ready to see what Misty can do."

"Well then you're in for _quite _a treat! And I'm like; _sure _you'll introduce me to your friends later right?" Daisy asked.

"Sure thing…now…could you turn around? I kinda wanna watch this battle!" Ash replied.

"Oh fine, if you insist." When Daisy turned around, she giggled girlishly when she saw Misty's furious expression, _"You can scowl all you want to little sis, I'm not afraid of you, not today at least."_

"Who's _that _Ash?" Iris asked.

"Oh that's Misty's oldest sister Daisy, she and Misty's other two older sisters Lily and Violet used to 'run' the gym when Misty was travelling with me." Ash explained.

"Why do you say it 'like that'?" Iris asked.

"Well Daisy, Lily, and Violet never treated Misty very well when we were younger, calling her the runt of the litter, they never saw her as 'one of them', and their idea of a gym battle was just _giving _any challenger that walked in a badge, rather than actually _battling _them. They were more concerned about their water shows than anything else. That's why when _I _showed up here, Misty took it upon herself to pick up her sisters' slack and battle me for the badge…to be quite honest, I woulda lost handily if it weren't for Team Rocket showing up and wrecking the place, back then Misty had _way _more experience battling than _I _did." Ash explained.

"Wow, she's _awesome!" _Iris exclaimed.

"Indeed she is." Cilan's tone of voice seemed to display infatuation.

"Who is?" Iris asked.

"Her! Look at that lovely woman, she's simply astounding." Cilan replied.

"Daisy?" Ash had to hold in a laugh, "She's _something _alright."

_"I _think she's nothing but a blonde bimbo." Iris crossed her arms and turned her back to Cilan, her cheeks puffed out in anger.

Cilan was about to vehemently object to Iris's comment, but when he noticed her angry expression, he couldn't help but smile, _"So she _does _have traits I can hope for, she's _jealous!" Cilan looked forward again and smiled again, "Well perhaps she's not _too _special. Besides, I know some pretty special people already."

Hearing that immediately lifted the purple-haired girl's spirits, although to be totally honest, she wasn't sure why. "So come on already! Let's get this battle started!" she shouted.

"Alright then!" Looking around to make sure Lily and Violet weren't around so she could skip the "likes", Daisy began her announcements, "This battle between Challenger Justin and Gym Leader Misty is about to get underway! This battle will be a three on three match and only the challenger is allowed to substitute Pokémon!"

"Alright rookie, you ready to see what I'm made of?!" Misty called out.

"I'm not your typical rookie trainer, you just wait and see!" Justin replied.

Ash laughed, "That kid's got the same fire that _I _had when I was his age."

"You _still _have that same childish fire, little kid." Iris smiled as she was finally able to get her insult in, finding it even more amusing when Ash gave her a dark look. "Just saying."

"Let the battle begin!" Daisy shouted.

"Now John! Come on out!" Justin tossed out a Pokéball, and a Blastoise emerged from it, much to the shock of everyone else.

"A rookie trainer with a _Blastoise?!_ How is that possible?!" Ash exclaimed in shock.

Ironically enough, Justin had heard Ash's comments, "You like? See my cousin's been teaching me about Pokémon and how to train them since I was five years old, so when I became a trainer, he let me have some of his older Pokémon so they could travel again! Ain't that right John?" the Blastoise turned around and nodded at the spiky-haired boy, and then turned his attention back to Misty.

Misty admittedly was caught off guard by the appearance of a fully-evolved Pokémon, most if not _all _the trainers she had battled over the past few weeks had been rookie trainers just starting out on their journeys, and the most they would show up with was an Ivysaur or a Pikachu, who she would then take down without much of a sweat. But then she recalled the man who had challenged her the day she sent the letter, _he _had a Shiftry, and Gyarados had managed to take him down after a tough battle. Remembering that battle brought a smile to her face, as she realized she might actually get a decent challenge this time, "I've been looking forward to the day when a trainer would show up with some powerful Pokémon; I haven't had a good challenge in _ages!"_ Misty grabbed a Pokéball off her belt and smiled at it, "And if _you're _gonna go with a _water-type, _then _I'm _gonna go with _this _Pokémon! Misty calls Starmie!" the redhead tossed out her own choice, and the Mysterious Pokémon appeared and landed on the platform, ready for a battle.

"Amazing! Iris, we're about to witness a full on Kanto league Gym Battle! Ash, use your Pokédex please, I would love to get some information on all these fascinating new Pokémon!" Cilan exclaimed.

Ash laughed, _"New _Pokémon. I guess new just depends on where you're from, _I grew up _with these Pokémon." Ash pulled out his Pokédex and activated the scan setting, "So which one first?"

"Do _that one!" _Iris exclaimed, pointing at John the Blastoise, "It _kinda _looks like a dragon!"

"Kinda." Ash shook his head with amusement and scanned the turtle.

"Blastoise, the Shellfish Pokémon. Blastoise's strength lies in its power, rather than its speed. Its shell is like armor and attacks from the hydro cannons on its back are virtually unstoppable." The Pokédex chirped.

"Wow! That's amazing! _I _want an unstoppable Blastoise!" Iris squealed.

"Maybe we'll find you a Squirtle before we head back to Unova. Squirtle is the starter Pokémon that evolves into Blastoise by the way," Ash chuckled, "Ok Cilan, I'm assuming _you _wanna hear about Misty's Starmie?"

"Indeed I do Ash; it's quite an exotic looking Pokémon!" Cilan replied.

"Starmie, the Mysterious Pokémon. Starmie's center section - the core - glows brightly in seven colors. Because of its luminous nature, this Pokémon has been given the nickname 'the gem of the sea'." The Pokédex chirped.

"Astounding! And Misty _has _one!" Cilan exclaimed.

"Starmie's one of Misty's oldest Pokémon, but I don't remember her using it much, I wonder what she's got up her sleeve." Ash replied.

"I'll start this battle off! John, use 'Hydro Pump'!" Justin ordered. Blastoise's cannons aimed directly at the sea star and fired a dual blast of highly pressurized water at it.

"Quick Starmie, into the pool and dodge it!" Starmie acknowledged Misty's order and jumped into the pool, making the water from the 'Hydro Pump' splash on the platform and make a huge mess, effectively getting Misty wet again.

"Oops, sorry about that!" Justin chuckled sheepishly.

"Hey don't worry about it! That's what happens in battles! Just like _this _happens! Starmie, leap out and attack with 'Rapid Spin'!" Starmie burst out of the pool and came spinning at Blastoise, and the turtle just couldn't react fast enough to dodge as it took the hit and staggered backwards slightly.

"You ok John?" Justin asked. Blastoise easily shook it off and got back into battle-ready stance, "Alright then!"

"That Blastoise sure has some tough defense." Cilan marveled.

"Most Blastoise do, in fact that's usually their trademark stat." Ash replied.

"You wanna use 'Rapid Spin'? We can play that game! Go John!" the nicknamed Blastoise withdrew back into his shell and began spinning at a high speed, then it leaped onto the water and began bouncing like a skipping stone towards the sea star.

"Quick Starmie, _you _use 'Rapid Spin'!" Misty countered. Starmie went spinning again, but this time Blastoise's size came into play as Starmie was sent careening into the pool after colliding with the turtle, "Oh no, Starmie!"

"Maybe she's not as awesome as I thought, what was she _thinking _trying to overpower something six times her own Pokémon's size?" Iris asked in confusion.

Ash wasn't convinced that Misty would make such a rookie mistake, "She's up to _something."_

"I can't _believe _you would try that! John's _way _bigger than your Starmie! Alright John, use 'Ice Beam'!" Blastoise fired two beams of ice at the sea star, but Misty had already gotten what she wanted.

"Ah hah! Now Starmie, dodge and use 'Thunderbolt'!" Starmie quickly burst out of the water again just as the beams struck the pool and froze it over, and the Mysterious Pokémon unleashed a furious blast of electricity that severely weakened the turtle. "Nice job Starmie!"

"Awesome! I didn't know Misty taught Starmie 'Thunderbolt'!" Ash exclaimed.

"She's quite an impressive Gym Leader, that much is for certain." Cilan added.

"We're not finished _yet!" _Justin shouted determinedly, "Use 'Rapid Spin' again!" Blastoise shook off the pain and charged for Starmie, but the sea star easily dodged. "We're too slow!" Justin growled.

"Let's finish this Starmie! One more 'Thunderbolt'!" Starmie obeyed the redhead and fired, and this time the electric shock was too much for John the Blastoise to withstand, as he fainted on top of the frozen water.

"Blastoise is unable to battle! Starmie is the winner!" Daisy announced.

"You battled hard John, take a good rest!" Justin returned the fully-evolved starter to his Pokéball and reached for his next choice, "You won't be so lucky _this time! _Now, Gardevoir, come on out!" Justin's choice happened to be a psychic-type Gardevoir, who landed on the ice created by Blastoise and awaited orders.

"Ooh! That's a pretty one!" Iris exclaimed, "Scan it Ash!"

Ash nodded and did just that, "Gardevoir, the Embrace Pokémon. Gardevoir has the psychokinetic power to distort the dimensions and create a small black hole. This Pokémon will try to protect its Trainer even at the risk of its own life." The Pokédex chirped.

"Such loyalty, and what a fitting description for such a beautiful creature such as itself." Cilan commented.

"This is my cousin's Gardevoir! She once saved his life when she sensed an incoming Fearow and she blasted it outta the sky with 'Charge Beam' before it could grab him!" Justin exclaimed.

"Well I'm impressed by _that!" _Misty quipped, "But is she any good in an actual _gym battle?"_

"See for yourself! Ok Gardevoir, let's show off that 'Charge Beam'!" Gardevoir's body began sparking with electricity, and then she fired the beam of lightning at Starmie, who was unprepared for that first move. "Yeah, _now_we're cooking!"

"That 'Charge Beam' was impressive." Cilan said.

"Yeah, but now Misty has to watch out, 'cause 'Charge Beam' has a pretty good chance of raising special attack power!" Ash added.

"Starmie, can you still battle?" Misty asked. The sea star's core blinked a couple of times, but it eventually got back up and faced its opponent, "Ok, 'Recover'!" Starmie's body began to glow as it made an attempt to regain lost strength.

"No you don't! Gardevoir, finish it with 'Magical Leaf'!" Gardevoir raised her hands above her head, and glowing leaves formed above it, then she swung her hands forward and the grass-type attack headed straight for the still recovering Starmie.

"Stop recovering Starmie and dodge it!" Misty shouted. Starmie obeyed and leaped up to avoid the attack, but the leaves came back around and nailed Starmie in the back, and when the sea star fell, it turned over and revealed that its core was blinking, signaling its defeat. "Aww Starmie."

"Starmie is unable to battle, Gardevoir is the winner!" Daisy announced.

"Yeah Gardevoir! One down!" Justin cheered.

"Magical Leaf' is an attack that rarely _ever _misses…so being a water-type Gym Leader, Misty's at an extreme disadvantage." Cilan said.

"You don't know Misty like _I _do! She'll pull this off! You watch!" Ash exclaimed.

"Return Starmie!" Misty returned the Mysterious Pokémon to its Pokéball for a well-earned rest, "You did a great job Starmie, thanks!" Misty then looked up at Justin, "Your Gardevoir's got some good moves, I have to admit…but now it's time to get serious!" Misty pulled off another Pokéball and looked at it before throwing it, "Misty calls Gyarados!" With a menacing roar, Misty's powerhouse emerged and towered over the psychic-type, who couldn't help but be intimidated by the giant Pokémon glaring at her.

At the sight of Gyarados, Iris's eyes lit up, "Wow! _Amazing! _Ash, scan it scan it scan it! It's just _gotta _be a dragon-type! It looks so _awesome!"_ Iris squealed.

"Uh, you're gonna be disappointed by this." Ash pulled out his Pokédex again to scan Misty's Gyarados.

"Gyarados, the Atrocious Pokémon. Once Gyarados goes on a rampage, its ferociously violent blood doesn't calm until it has burned everything down. There are records of this Pokémon's rampages lasting a whole month." The Pokédex chirped.

"Ok, so why should I be disappointed?" Iris asked.

"Gyarados _looks _like a dragon. But its typing is water-_flying_, not dragon." Ash replied.

"Oh…" Iris was noticeably disappointed as Ash predicted, but she wasn't totally let down, "Well…at least it _looks _like a dragon. I still approve!"

"Ok Gardevoir, hit it with 'Charge Beam'!" Justin ordered. Gardevoir charged up power again, but this time Misty was ready.

"Use 'Protect'!" Gyarados acknowledged the order and formed an unbreakable barrier that the beam feebly bounced off of. "Great, it protected Gyarados, but all those 'Charge Beams' are powering up Gardevoir's special attack power! Gotta think fast…" Misty looked at the field, and realized that Gardevoir was still standing on the ice. "That's it! _Gyarados _can swim…but maybe…_just maybe_…Gardevoir _can't!"_

Ash smiled as he watched Misty battle, "I know that gleam in her eye, Misty's got an idea!"

"Gyarados! Break through the ice!" Misty ordered. Gyarados roared and shattered the top layer of the pool, leaving Gardevoir to stumble and try to regain her balance on a lone chunk of leftover ice.

"Oh no! Gardevoir!" Justin shouted.

"Finish the job Gyarados! Use 'Crunch'!" Gyarados burst out of the water, and the Atrocious Pokémon caught Gardevoir in its mouth, much to the shock and horror of everyone else.

"Did Gyarados just _swallow_ Gardevoir?!" Iris squeaked.

Luckily however, Gyarados slowly swam over to Justin, who had been watching with his jaw hanging down. Gyarados spit Gardevoir out of its mouth, and the psychic-type hit the ground hard, covered in the dragon's saliva. "Gardevoir?" Justin gulped. Gardevoir tried to push herself up and keep fighting, but the attack's power paired with the trauma of almost being swallowed was just too much for Gardevoir to handle, as she fainted. "Gardevoir, no!"

"Wow…uh…" Daisy shook her head and came to her senses, "Gardevoir is unable to battle! Gyarados is the winner!"

"Astounding, I've _never _seen a strategy that _drastic _before! I was sincerely fearful that Gyarados had actually _devoured _Gardevoir!" Cilan said in astonishment.

"Even _I _gotta admit…I knew Misty had nerve, but I didn't think she had _that much _nerve." Ash added.

"Oh don't be such a kid!" Iris scoffed, "That's just what dragons do! They overpower their opponents and annihilate them!"

Ash face-palmed and leaned his elbow against his knee, "She said it again, she said it _again!" _the trainer grumbled to himself.

"Gardevoir, return!" Justin returned the now slimy psychic-type to her ball, "Don't worry, I'll get you all cleaned up." Justin placed Gardevoir's Pokéball back onto his belt and looked up at Misty. "You're a _lot _tougher than I thought you'd be, I _never _would've seen _that _coming! I might even have _nightmares _about that!"

"Don't worry; I train Gyarados almost every day! It'd _never _actually _eat _anyone! I've made _very _sure about that." Misty replied, "But enough about that, choose your final Pokémon!"

"Oh I will…this one's my secret weapon!" Justin pulled out his final Pokéball and looked at with a smirk, "Being cooped up here in Cerulean City, I'm willing to bet you've never even _seen _one of these!" Justin wound up and threw the Pokéball, "Lilligant, come on out!" Upon release, the denizen of Unova did a little dance before focusing on the task at hand.

"A Lilligant?!" the group in the stands shouted.

While the bystanders were shocked to see a Lilligant in Kanto, Misty had reeled back in apprehension. Justin was right; she had never seen anything like this Pokémon before. Just by appearance alone she could predict it was a grass-type…but she had _no idea _what special traits this Pokémon had, or what Justin had in store for her. _"Gotta keep it together!"_

"Misty looks overwhelmed." Iris commented.

"I can understand why, having never seen a Pokémon like that, it's difficult for her to come up with a strategy." Cilan added.

"Did I forget to mention my cousin moved to Unova a few weeks ago? He sent me his Lilligant _specifically _for my battle against you! I may even keep her to go up against the Gym Leader in _Pewter _City!" Justin exclaimed cockily.

That aroused Misty's ire. "You better not pick on poor Forrest! He's only been a Gym Leader for a couple of months!" Misty snarled, shaking a fist at her challenger. "Now you've made me _mad! I've _got a trick or two up _my _sleeve too! Gyarados, unleash your 'Flamethrower'!" Gyarados opened its mouth and a blazing inferno came blasting out of it.

Lilligant took the hit with some difficulty, as Justin was unprepared for the unlikely move choice, "No, Lilligant!"

"Yeah! Misty's gonna take the fight to this brat!" Ash whooped.

"I wouldn't get my hopes up too soon Ash." Cilan replied.

"Whaddya mean?" Ash asked.

"Look at Misty," Cilan pointed at the redheaded Gym Leader, "Look at her eyes, her eyes deceive her. I can tell she's still uncertain about what she's facing and what she's doing. Depending on what Justin calls next, Misty could quite possibly seal her own fate."

The more Ash examined Misty, the more he realized that Cilan was right. Jumping headfirst into a battle with a Pokémon from a region she knew nothing about, very little at the best, Misty was nervous about what she would call out next…but even with all those facts taken into consideration…Ash still felt like something else was off…like Misty was worried about looking bad. _"What's the matter Misty?"_

"Alright, use 'Quiver Dance'!" Lilligant began doing a beautiful dance, which instinctively got Misty to counter.

"Quick, use 'Protect'!" Misty shouted. Gyarados created the barrier, but when Lilligant didn't make a move to attack and just stopped dancing, Misty reeled back again, "W-Wha? It didn't _do _anything!"

"Quiver Dance' raises the special stats Misty!" Ash shouted.

Misty's head twisted to meet Ash's gaze, and then back at Lilligant who even seemed to _look _stronger and faster than it did just a moment ago. "Oh boy."

"Lilligant, finish it with 'Giga Drain'!" Before Misty or Gyarados could even react, Lilligant leaped onto Gyarados's head and began sapping the energy from its body.

"Gyarados, no!" Misty watched as her ferocious powerhouse was drained of all its power, and as soon as the grass-type leaped back onto its side of the stage, Gyarados became limp and crashed into the water, making a huge splash that made everyone in the area soaking wet. "G-Gyarados…"

"Unbelievable…" Daisy mumbled to herself, "Gyarados is unable to battle, the winner is…uh, Lilligant, was it?"

"Yeah that's right! Way to go Lilligant! One more to go!" Justin cheered.

"I can't believe this is happening!" Ash growled.

"Are you mad at Misty?" Iris asked.

"Yes! I mean no! I mean…" Ash ripped off his hat and tugged on his hair in frustration, "It's _my _fault!"

_"Your _fault? What are you talking about?" Cilan asked.

"I should've kept in better touch! I could've told her about all these new awesome Pokémon from Unova, I could've told her how they battled! Now she's down there struggling because she doesn't know what to be ready for because she's never been able to see or even _hear about _Unova Pokémon!" Ash hid his face in his hands, shaking his head in remorse, "Why didn't I tell her?"

Meanwhile Misty had taken a moment to look up at the stands…and her heart cracked a little when she saw Ash with his head in his hands. _"Great, now he thinks I'm weak!" _Misty closed her eyes for a moment and blinked back tears, and she stood tall and scowled at her opponent, "I don't care who you come at me with," Misty decided to go back to her roots, and convert her sadness into rage, and let it fuel her, "I'm not letting you win! Now Corsola! Come on out!" Corsola emerged and growled at the grass-type she was facing.

"Oooh, that's cute!" Iris giggled.

"Corsola, the Coral Pokémon. Corsola's branches glitter very beautifully in seven colors when they catch sunlight. If any branch breaks off, this Pokémon grows it back in just one night." The Pokédex chirped.

"I must say, seeing all these unique Pokémon in battle has been exhilarating!" Cilan said.

"Come on Misty! Take this guy down!" Ash shouted. But Ash reeled back when Misty shot him a dark look, "What'd I do?" he asked in confusion.

"We're not wasting any time! Lilligant, 'Giga Drain'!" Lilligant quickly leaped for the Coral Pokémon to end the battle in one hit, but this time, Misty had it called.

"Mirror Coat'!" the redhead shouted.

"W-What?! Lilligant turn back!" But it was too late. Corsola leaped up to meet Lilligant in the air, and when Corsola smashed into the grass-type, Lilligant took the full effects of 'Mirror Coat' and fell to the water with a splash. When it came back up, it was limply floating. "I don't believe it…"

"Lilligant is unable to battle! The winner is Corsola and the match goes to Gym Leader Misty!" Daisy announced.

"She did it! I _knew _she could!" Ash was now taking leaps and bounds to reach his best friend and congratulate her, "Misty, you did it! You _totally baited _this guy!"

Misty could see Ash was trying to be nice, but she was still bothered by his expression before, so all she could relinquish was a small smile before walking past him to meet with Justin. "You sure gave me a run for my money."

"Yeah…I _really _thought that Lilligant would be the one who'd get me the win, but I guess you're too tough to go down that easy." Justin sighed, "I'll be back."

"And I'll be here." Misty shook the trainer's hand and watched as he walked out of the gym, "But he's right…" she said to herself, "I looked like such an _idiot _using 'Protect' against a stat boosting move."

"Misty, what's the matter? You won…" Ash asked. Misty just walked as fast as she could out of the gym to try and keep from being with Ash. "I don't understand…Cilan, what's going on?" Ash asked hopelessly.

"I don't know Ash…but I _do _know that _you _have to be the one to talk to her." Cilan replied, "Go after her, finish what you started."

Ash nodded determinedly and chased after the redhead, with Pikachu and Misty's Azurill bounding after him. As he did that, Daisy came up to join Cilan and Iris, "Wow, that was quite a battle…Misty really struggled with that Pokémon, was it from _your _region?"

"Yep, sure was!" Iris exclaimed.

"Ash felt it was his fault that he hadn't informed Misty of Unova Pokémon, but I don't see how he can blame himself, it isn't his fault Misty's spent so much time here." Cilan explained.

"No…it isn't." Daisy scratched her chin in thought, "I have another idea."

"Misty!" Ash crashed through the doors of the gym and found Misty standing there with her arms wrapped around herself, "Misty, what's the matter? You won!"

"I got _lucky _Ash, ok?!" Misty spat, turning on her heels to scream at him, "I saw you watching me, shaking your head in disappointment…well what do you expect huh?! I've been stuck here for years! I don't know anything about Unova Pokémon! How am I supposed to know what to do?!" Misty turned around and started to cry a little, "Just…pack your things and go! I don't need you here to patronize me."

Ash couldn't believe what he was hearing. He didn't think Misty was weak, he thought the total opposite in fact. Seeing Misty take down Lilligant despite her obvious disadvantage was something he honestly never expected to happen. But he realized then why she might've thought that. She must've seen him when he was blaming himself for her lack of knowledge and misinterpreted it as disappoint in her. Upon that revelation, Ash felt his heart break. There was no holding back anymore, he either did what he came to do, or go back to Unova with his heart in turmoil for the rest of his journey. Without any more hesitation, Ash ran up to Misty and hugged her as tight as he could from behind. "I _wasn't _disappointed in you Misty! I was blaming _myself _that you didn't know about Unova Pokémon!"

Misty was stunned by this, as she slowly removed Ash's arms from around herself so she could face him, "Blaming yourself? Why? It's not your fault!"

"Yes it is!" Ash shot back, "I could've _told _you about Unova Pokémon, I could've called you a _long _time ago and told you about all the awesome Pokémon I was seeing!" Ash's voice began to crack as he fought back his sadness and remorse. "I let you down Misty; I don't deserve to have you as a friend."

"Don't _even say_ that!" Misty shook her head vigorously to object, "Ash, do you have _any _idea what being your friend has meant to me?"

"No…but I _do _know what being _your _friend has meant to _me." _Ash hugged Misty again, hoping to draw on her strength to steady himself. "Misty…you're nothing short of _amazing; _everything about you is just inspiring…" Seeing how Misty was in awe, Ash decided to try and hint even further towards his point, as he pulled her hairband off and tossed it aside, letting her still wet hair to fall around her face, "I _did _say I loved your hair down." He said.

"Ash…"

"Misty, my heart can't take being away from you anymore, if I go back to Unova without saying this…I'll probably be miserable the rest of my journey." Ash gulped and braced himself for what he was about to drop on Misty. "Misty…I…I-I…want you to come with me to Unova!" Ash internally kicked himself. _"I chickened out _again."

Misty however, was still thrilled. "You...you want…you!" Misty simply reacted, and leaped into Ash's arms and kissed him passionately on the lips, knocking Ash's hat off his head and onto the nearby Azurill's.

Ash wasn't sure what just happened, all he knew was that he was currently holding Misty up in the air while she kissed him. Wait, she was kissing him! Ash gripped Misty tighter and returned the gesture as best as he could, as he'd never shared a kiss with anyone else before. At least now he could safely say his first kiss was shared was someone he really loved. _"Man oh man, this is _AWESOME."

When Misty realized what she was doing, she immediately pulled back from Ash's face and saw how wide his smile was, and then she noticed that she wasn't even on the ground, and that Ash was holding her up. "Um…I-I don't…I don't know what came over me…sorry." she stammered, her face as red as it could possibly get.

_"Don't _be." Ash replied, "You just made what I _really _wanted to say a _million _times easier."

"Um…what-what you _really _wanted to say? What's that?" the redhead asked, "Oh, and um…could you put me down?"

"Oh-oh, sure!" Ash chuckled sheepishly and put the Gym Leader back onto the ground. "Well…since you _kissed me _and all…I feel ok saying this now…" Ash hugged her one more time, and this time Misty reciprocated without hesitation, "I love ya Mist, I really do."

"I was _dying _for you to say that Ash, you have _no idea _how badly I wanted you to say that." Misty kissed Ash again, just to try and release some of that pent up emotion that had been building up over years of holding back, "And I love you too, more than you even realize." Then Misty remembered Ash's previous offer. "But…I can't go with you to Unova." She said with a sad smile.

"What?" Ash's heart dropped, "But why? Don't you _want _to travel again?"

_"Of course _I do…but…I can't just leave the gym, it's _my _responsibility, and I can't very well leave my sisters in charge when they barely know how to battle rookie trainers." Misty replied.

_"That _won't last long." A voice said. The two trainers looked to the doors of the gym and saw Iris, Cilan, and Daisy all standing there. "You need to brush up on your Pokémon knowledge little sis, I think you need to take a trip to a new region…say…Unova?"

"Really?! But…what about the gym?" Misty asked.

"A week or two of Misty's boot camp oughta help with _that_," Daisy giggled, "I said I had a lot to make up for Misty, consider this me making another payment to that debt."

"So…so I _can _go to Unova! Will you wait for me?" Misty asked sweetly.

"As long as you need. Maybe I can go visit Mom and Brock while I'm in Kanto. And I could always visit a certain redhead that I recently found out I'm in love with." Ash smirked cheekily at the Gym Leader, who responded by giving him another passionate kiss on the lips, this time with her feet on the ground.

"Ew, gross." Iris commented.

"Oh…don't be such a little kid." Ash replied.

"HEEEEEY!"  
_

**A/N: That's it! The three part series inspired by Simply-Nicole of deviantART is officially over! I think the ending was slightly anticlimactic, but at the same time I like it since it's funny how I made Iris's insult come back to bite her lol. So yeah, hope you enjoyed it! More than likely I'm switching couples for the next story. We'll see who inspires me next! Read and Review!**


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